The Book of Lost Things Reading Guide

Highlight the feelings David has regarding his “failure” to keep his mother alive.. David finds the book is owned by Jonathan Tulvey and asks Rose about this.. Where does David prefer re

The Book of Lost Things

By: John Connolly

What you will need to use the study guide?

This guide will require you to annotate you text To annotate means to write notes and comments directly on the pages in the book Annotating is an important strategy that good readers use to help them better understand the texts they encounter Typically

when highlight a passage, it is important to write a little note about what you just highlighted (annotating) Annotating will be required in most of your English classes

and is a great study skill to develop over the course of your schooling Therefore, in

addition to this guide, you will need a copy of The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly

that you can write in, a highlighter and a pencil

What is in this guide?

Many works of literature are challenging, especially when you are reading them for the first time This interactive reading guide will give you the tools you need in order to make sense of this novel Here is what you will find in the study guide:

Outside References: This area will give you some additional information before you begin reading the novel It is important to be familiar with the stories the David grew up reading The material I have attached is strictly for additional support.

Keep Track: By reading with a highlighter and a pencil in hand, you’ll become a more active reader You will often be asked to underline or circle passages as you read or to take notes in the margins It is your job to make sure you are writing some kind of annotation in the margin, throughout the novel

Pause and Reflect: This section will be your key to your understanding of the

material It is important to write some reactions, make connections and explore your thoughts while you read Material that you can relate to or connect with is more likely to stay in your long term memory For this reason, at the end of the chapter, I have asked you to respond to a question, quote or comment or give a short summary In your summaries, you can write a question about something you may have been confused about or something, you need more information about You can write the comment about how what is happening in the story or how the content may relate to your own life

or the life of someone you know Imagine what it must have been like to grow up as David Think about the fairy tales you may have read as a child, how are these different from David’s? Also think about your fears as a child, did these seem like rational fears, looking back Remember, every fair tale has a moral, can you recognize what each is trying to teach David? At the end of each section, you see the ☺ symbol; this will let you know you need to respond to something regarding the chapter

Building Background Information

About the Author

All information is taken from John Connolly’s website

http://www.thebookoflostthings.com

John Connolly was born in Dublin Ireland He attended Trinity College in Dublin, where

he studied English, then went on to Dublin City University to study Journalism He worked a variety of jobs ranging from a journalist, to a waiter He still contributes

articles to The Irish Times Most of his novels are crime dramas, based on a character Charlie Parker The Book of Lost Things, is written for the child in all of us remembering

the time when we began to grow up and leave our childhood behind

About the Book

David is a twelve year old boy who loses his mother to a terrible illness He is

mesmerized by the stories she has told him since he was a young child Stories of heroes and villains, fairy tales, tales of Greece and Rome, war and peace, true love, myths and the heroes quest for greatness After his mother’s death, he begins to retreatinto a world of his own creation, a way to deal with his extreme guilt and grief This world

is based on everything he has grown to love, his mothers stories David’s reality is based on fear and mistrust; Hitler’s advancing army, attacks on England, his father’s remarriage, a new step-brother, a new home in the countryside and his father’s long absences He retreats further and further into this fantasy world, where he searches for all things lost Through this journey, we are able to witness the tale of our hero David and his quest to find his way back to his family

Back Ground Information

The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy is a young girl who lives on a Kansas farm with her Uncle Henry and her Auntie

Em A tornado rips through their town and Dorothy is transported into the magical world

of Oz complete with Munchkins, Glinda the good witch and a Wicked witch As she tries

to figure out her way home, the Munchkins tell her of a great wizard in the Emerald City who can help her; in order to get there, she must follow the yellow brick road Dorothy

sets out on quest to get to the Emerald city Along the way she meets the Scarecrow, who is looking for a brain, the Tinman who is looking for a heart and the Cowardly Lion who is looking for courage The group sets out to find the wizard so he can help them Throughout their journey, they have to face many challenges, especially the Wicked Witch of the West, but are always victorious When they arrive at the Emerald City, they find out the Wizard is nothing but a fake, he has no real power and can do nothing to help the group He is just trying to get home like Dorothy He explains the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion that they do not need brains, a heart and courage, they already have that inside of them; but there is nothing he can do about Dorothy Glinda the good witch appears and tells her to click her ruby red slippers three times and say “there is no placelike home” She says good bye to her friends and leaves Oz When she arrives home, she finds out she was injured in the tornado and looks up to see her family and friends around her bedside She is puzzled by the resemblance each one has to someone she met in Oz

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood is the young girl who visits her Grandmother once a week to bring her some food She is identifiable through her bright red coat and hood While walking through the forest, she meets the Big Bad Wolf, who wants to eat her, they speak for a minute and then Little Red Riding hood is on her way; but he does not give

up He goes to her Grandmother’s house and pretends to be Little Red Riding Hood, she lets him in and she is eaten! Little Red Riding Hood arrives at her grandmother’s house the next day only to find the Big Bad Wolf disguised as her Grandmother He ends up eating Little Red Riding Hood Both Little Red Riding Hood and her

Grandmother are alive but in the Wolf’s stomach A woodsman comes to the cottage and frees them both by cutting open the Wolf They then fill him with rocks and sew him back up He is never heard from again and they all live happily ever after

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel are the children of a poor woodcutter Things are very hard at home and the family is facing starvation The evil step mother convinces the woodcutter to send the children out into the woods to get rid of them The children overhear the plan and bring breadcrumbs to find their way home The evil step mother again convinces their father to send them out into the forest The kids again bring bread crumbs but they are eaten by the animals in the forest and they are lost The children come across a ginger bread house and they begin to eat it There is an old woman who lives inside andinvites the kids inside They are taken prisoner The kids figure out the woman keeps her ginger bread house to “fatten” up the children so she can cook them! Right as she isgetting ready to cook the kids, they trick her and she ends up in the stove The kids stealher jewels and are reunited with their father ( the evil step mother has died) and they all live happily ever after

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow white is the beautiful young daughter of the king She has lips as white as snow, hair as dark as night(black) and lips as red as blood The king re-marries and Snow White finds herself with a new step mother Each day, the evil queen asks her mirror,

“mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” The mirror answers Snow

White She is angry and sends her hunter out to have her killed in the forest The Hunter seeing how kind and sweet she is tells her to stay in the forest to avid her evil step mother and never return to the castle Snow White comes upon a small house that

is a mess She cleans up the messy house and takes a rest, when she awakens, she finds the seven dwarfs: Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful, Sneezy, Grumpy, and the leader Doc These men work at the diamond mine The evil queen finds out she is still alive

and disguises herself and brings Snow White a poisoned apple Snow White eats it and falls into a deep sleep The spell can only be broken by true love The dwarfs take care

of her and eventually, Prince Charming comes and kisses her and the spell is broke Snow White and Prince Charming lived happily ever after

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Three bears live in a little cottage in the forest; a mother, father and cub The mother makes some porridge but it is too hot to eat, so the family goes on a walk in the forest Ayoung girl named Goldilocks enters the cottage She tries the porridge(like oatmeal) (toohot, too cold, just right) She tries also tries out their chairs and their bed Each time, she finds the baby bear’s one just right The bears come home to find their porridge eaten, their chairs broke and a strange girl sleeping in their bed Frightened, she leaves.(In some stories, she stays and becomes friends with the baby bear)

Sleeping Beauty (somewhat similar to Snow White)

Aurora is the light of her mother and father’s life She has beautiful blond hair and blood red lips Her parents promise her hand in marriage to the young Prince Phillip She has

3 fairy Godmothers who each bless her at her christening Before the third fairy

Godmother has a chance to bless the child, an evil witch casts a spell on Aurora in which she will die at age sixteen when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel The third fairy Godmother reverse the curse to say that she will fall into a deep sleep in whichshe can only be waken by loves true kiss The Godmothers raise the girl in a small cottage in the forest in order to keep her safe While in the forest, she meets a

mysterious man riding in the forest (“Prince Philip”) and they fall in love The

Godmothers decide to return Aurora back to the castle The evil witch tricks her into touching the spinning wheel and she is cast into a deep sleep The Godmothers go to Prince Phillip and ask him for his help, but he has been captured by the evil witch The Godmothers rescue him and armed with his sword and shield, he goes to rescue Aurora

He must fight the evil witch who has turned herself into a fire breathing dragon He slaysthe dragon and wakes up his true love with a kiss They learn that they were destined to

be married and live happily ever after

Rumplestiltskin

A poor man, with a beautiful daughter, met the King of his land He promised the King his daughter could weave straw into gold The King did not believe the man and took hisdaughter to the castle and put her in a room filled with straw He closed the door and she began to cry Suddenly, a dwarf appears and tells her he will help her if she gives him something in return She promises him her necklace The room was immediately filled with gold The King comes back the next day and is very impressed and asks the girl to do it again She begins to cry again, because she can not weave straw into gold The dwarf appears once again and will help but he wants something in return The girl gives him her ring The King is once again happy and tells the young girl that he will marry her if she can once again fill the room with gold The King leaves and the girl begins to cry The dwarf returns but the girl has nothing else to give him He says he will help her if she gives him her first born child when she is Queen She agrees They are married and a year later she has a son The dwarf returns for his payment He will let the Queen out of the deal if she can guess his name She sends a servant out to findout the dwarfs name For two days he comes back with no information, amusing the dwarf On the third day, he comes back with the tale of a rhyming man called

Rumplestiltskin, who will take the royal child When the dwarf comes back, the Queen calls him by his name and wins the bet! Rumplestiltskin is so angry he leaves and is never heard from again The King, Queen and their child lived happily ever after

Completing the Interactive Study Guide:

Use the attached study guide as you read The Book of Lost Things You do not need to

write out the answers to this study guide on paper Just remember to follow the reading symbols, highlight when asked to and annotate when asked to

In addition to annotating your book, you may want to put a circle around any words you don’t understand and a ? next to the parts of the story you don’t understand The first part of the study guide is more guided, as you get more into the novel, you will take a more independent role in annotating Continue the patterns you have started and all will

be fine!

Good Luck and Happy Reading! Enjoy the rest of your summer!!☺

Of All That Was Found and All That Was Lost

In this chapter, we meet David, the young boy who is losing his mother We learn about his love for book and obsessive tendencies, hoping to keep his mother alive David’s mother dies and as he put it “ that is where the trouble started”.

Highlight the members of David’s family

What does David do to try to keep his mother alive? Keep note of some of the routines that he does each day

Describe her books How does his mother feel about reading?

Highlight the feelings David has regarding his “failure” to keep his mother alive Label

this section guilt

Highlight some aspects of the wake and funeral

What does David do after leaving the Church? Underline what he equates death to feel

like Label this section feeling of death

Is David’s father interested in books? What are his interests? Who becomes the protector of David’s mother’s books?

☺ Comment on the following statement: “These stores were very old, as old as people, and they had survived because they were very powerful indeed…They were both an escape from reality and an alternative reality themselves …sometimes the wall separating the two became so thin and brittle that the two worlds started to blend into each other”

Of Rose and Dr Morberley and the Importance of Details

David continues to deal with his mothers death His intense feelings of guilt haunt him His father introduces him to a “friend” called Rose, she worked at the hospital where his mother was staying He begins to have “attacks” and is forced to see Dr Morberley.

What is life like for David with his mother gone? What is life like in London?

How is David doing with his routines? Are these routines still important to keep up?

Describe Rose Who does she remind you of? Highlight this and label it Rose

Highlight some of the details of their first meeting

What happens before and after his first black out?

Circle Dr Morberley What kind of doctor is he? Highlight his description along with the

a description of the office What happens in the office that troubles David? How does

he feel about the books?

What does Dr Morberley ask David to do? Why is this?

Who does David see at the end of the Chapter?

☺Predict: What do you think is wrong with David? (I will ask you this several times during your reading)

Of the New House, the New Child, and the New King

This chapter begins with much change David’s father and Rose are expecting a new baby, London is no longer safe with Hitler’s army advancing David learns of his father’s new job and how it will require a lot of time away, it will also require a move to the

countryside At his house, David continues to withdraw and have more frequent

“nightmares” He finds a strange book that has stories that resemble his mothers but with a more violent twist.

What is going on in David’s life that may cause him some new stress Label this

background info.

Highlight the information about London during the early years of World War II Label this

Germans/WWII.

What is going on with David physically?

Carefully read about David’s almost attack after he finds out Rose is pregnant Highlightsome things you may see that could medically explain his attacks?

What happened after the birth of Georgie? Why did they have to move?

What is David’s father’s job? Why is this important?

Highlight some important details about David’s new room Highlight he books, and how they books react to the new additions Circle all of the types of books David finds in his new room ( this will be important later in the book) Pay attention to the book about communism

What is odd about the book he finds that “were similar to his own”? Take some notes onhow these were different from the stories of his mother told him

What is going on in David’s room at night? Why might this be important?

What does David dream of at the end of the chapter?

☺Write a question, comment, or short summary at the end of this section.

Of Jonathan Tulvey and Billy Golding and Men Who Dwell by the Railroad Tracks

David is settling into Rose’s family’s country house He continues to read his book of fairy tales while further and further disconnecting from the family Rose and David are barely civil and his father is at work a lot of the time The war is ranging in London, more bombings are taking place David finds the book is owned by Jonathan Tulvey and asks Rose about this She explains that this is her great-uncle who disappeared with a young girl the family adopted, both never to be seen again His parents left the room as it was,

as did Rose’s parents, as did Rose, always with the hope he and Anna would return David is staying in this room In a flashback, we learn about Billy Golding Billy Golding

is a boy who was abducted in the park He was found days later and there were signs

of sexual abuse A man was arrested later that week and his mother warned David never to go with strange men, no matter what they offered you

Highlight some characteristics of David’s room Does this remind you of something?

Where does David prefer reading (page 36) Highlight this and label this outside

looking in Then highlight some details about the garden.

What is David’s relationship with Rose? Why is he feeling this way? What is Rose doing

to try to change David’s mind? How does David feel about his father? Label this part

betrayal.

Take notes on the story of Jonathan Tulvey and Anna Look at any similarities you may

see in comparison to David’s story What do you think happened to Jonathan and Anna?

Take particular notice to the man in the book store Label this The Crooked Man

Take notes on Billy Golding David he knew “something very bad had happened” to Billy? Do you think David has an idea of what may have happened to Billy? What does

David’s mother tell him about “strange men”? Label this Roland.

London is being heavily bombed by German during the early days of the war This is something discussed at the dinner table each nigh Highlight some details of the battles

Label this fear of WWII

What does David dream of at the end of the chapter?

☺Comment: Do you think Rose has true motherly feelings for David or do you believe she is just trying to keep the peace? How do you think David feels about Georgie? Are his feelings real or is he just feeling left out of the family?

Of Intruders and Transformations

Rose is having a hard time with the baby, he is very fussy and she is very tired David and Rose are not getting along at all and his father is stressed because he can not keep the peace between the two David is experiencing “waking dreams” and is hearing his mother’s voice He spends more and more time in his room reading and watching the garden While out in the garden one day, he sees the Crooked Man in his room He is looking at the book and it drops when he hears the baby cry David tells his father and

he finds a bird in the room, but David know the Crooked Man wants something from him.

Describe how the Crooked Man enters into David’s world This will happen over the course of the chapter, so be a careful reader Pay close attention to the stressors in

David’s during the chapters Label these parts David and Roses relationship, David and his father’s relationship, David and Georgie’s relationship, His mothers voice, The Crooked Man in the House

In what ways are David’s dreams changing? Physically, what is he experiencing Label

this symptoms What do you think this means?

Put() around the sentences that describe what David is holding back from Dr Morberley

Label this fear of being seen as crazy.

What did the commotion in David’s room turn out to be? Does he believe this?

☺Comment on the following quote “And David knew then that the time was quickly approaching when he would have to enter that place and face at last what lay within.”

Of the War, and the Way Between Worlds

David is missing his father, he is at work for longer hours and when he comes home he

is very tired David is worried about the war and his father tries to assure him that the allies are holding their own David feels alone and scared David and Rose have a terrible fight They both say horrible things that neither can take back David’s father punishes David by sending him to his room David has a seizure and blacks out again for a good portion of the night When he finally wakes he is pretty out of it, he hears his mom’s voice calling for help He goes out into the garden and sees a plane crash into the forest

This chapter takes us through some family drama Take notes on the David’s feeling

throughout the chapter… pay close attention to the feelings for his fathers absence, his

fight with Rose, his feelings after his father came home and “sided” with Rose

Physically, what happens to David in his room? Have you seen signs of this illness

before? Label this David’s illness

What bring David outside? Label this voices What does he see in the sky? Label this crash.

☺ Write a question, comment, or short summary at the end of this section

Of the Woodsman and the Work of His Ax

David finds a hole in the garden wall and he climbs through it, through the trunk of a tree and finds the wreckage of a plane crash He finds the body of a wolf in humans clothing and becomes scared He tries to return but can not find his way, as the trees have surrounded him in the forest He runs into a woodsman who takes him from the danger that is approaching

Highlight what David finds Label this German bomber Read on and see what he finds

in the plane Label these plans for bombing raids.

What do the flowers represent? What happens when David walks past these flowers? Why do you think this happens? Highlight this in the book

What does he find next to the plane? Label this wolf man

Highlight he description of the man he meets in the forest How does David feel about

him at first meeting? Label this Woodsman

How does he mark the tree in order to help David find his way home? Which fairy tale can this be associated with?

☺Write a question, comment, or short summary at the end of this section

Of the Wolves, and Worse-Than-Wolves

David and the Woodsman run through the forest, as they come close to the cottage, they run into the wolf man The Woodsman and the wolf man discuss how the woods are changing, but both seem to be on different sides

Highlight some the key aspects of the relationship between David and the Woodsman How would you describe this?

Describe the cottage Label this Fortress.

We run into these creatures again Highlight some descriptions of these animals Label

this wolf man.

Highlight some of major parts of the argument between the Wolf man and the

Woodsman Pay close attention as they talk about the Kingdom and a new order How does the Woodsman continue to protect David( page 80)? Do you see a distinct

difference between how the Woodsman views the wolf man?

Highlight some of the characteristics of the forest What do you seen as unusual? Where do they want to take David?

☺Do you believe David is dreaming? How do you explain what is happening?

Of the Loups and How They Came into Being

Inside the cottage, the Woodsman takes care of David The Woodsman tells his first

“story” of the forest He tells David of the wolf men, know as the Loups, their leader Leroi We also hear about a “trickster” who is seen in this world It turns out this is the same Crooked Man David has seen in his dreams and his room.

Highlight some of the way, the Woodsman takes care of David He tends to his needs, pays attention to him and most importantly listens to him and does not dismiss him Why is this important?

The Loups are described in detail Highlight some characteristics about these creatures

and how they came into being Label this Loups Look for the Loups ultimate goal Label this goal.

☺Comment on the following quote “ And there was something so sad and yet so angry about the way the Woodsman spoke of the Crooked Man and David wondered if Leroi, the leader of the Loups, was wrong Perhaps the Woodsman had had a family, once, but something very bad had happened and he was entirely alone

Of Tricksters and Trickery

David is having trouble falling asleep He wants to return home, worries that his father will be missing him and the other possibility that his father is happy he is gone David continues to open up to the Woodsman about his family life and his routines, the

Woodsman has a different perspective on this, but David is not ready to accept that They decide it is too dangerous for David to stay in the forest They return to the part of the forest to only to find that the trees they had marked the day before are gone There